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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by Thorkil

Splendid!, was it handheld? And something particularly done about noisereduction?
Thorkil

Hi Thorkil

Thanks. Standard settings Sigma Photo Pro. Handheld, but -7 exposure. There is some noise, but not excessive. I would really prefer to experiment a bit more using Neat Image etc, but I won't be able to for a week or so when I get back from my travels...

Quentin Bargate Co-Founder of Ajuve, Director of Bargate Murray, Law Firm of the Year 2012 - 2016, Photographer

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Hi Lee
But sometimes it’s some sort of getting paralysed, with all that gear available. Thinking back at our early stage, from young on, I lived happily with my Rollei 35, handy, made splendid pictures, got it with me all around all the time…until the unlimited possibilities went berserk, and one got confused and unsatisfied, because one never knew what was around next corner…same issue like the youngsters and net-dating, result: there have never been so many lonely young ones (well, at least in Denmark…I guess).
So, if one is getting close to the target (as here), grab it, and close the eye for all the other thousands of possibilities…and be a happy man…(anyway one will never know if it’s the best camera in our own world…but the best thing that can happen is if one do succeed in the task believing that…then the shooting continue)
Thorkil

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by Quentin_Bargate

Hi Thorkil

Thanks. Standard settings Sigma Photo Pro. Handheld, but -7 exposure. There is some noise, but not excessive. I would really prefer to experiment a bit more using Neat Image etc, but I won't be able to for a week or so when I get back from my travels...

Hi Quentin. But I do think this pictures doesn't need lees grain, the old 400 film had it too, in my eye its just superb(sometimes better hit the target 95% than 100%, the artist's allways(at lot of them) builded in some odd thing, just to trick the eye, the slightly unperfected thing looks sometimes more perfect. Best shooting down there in Cannes!
Thorkil

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Today I tried doing some stitched shots of a local landmark, Ithaca Falls. Harsh and shifting lighting so I need to go back and try again when the fall colors come in and lighting is better.

A four shot stitch. Blown sky was cropped out, but I left the two lovers in the shot for scale. They seemed mildly concerned about being photographed, but eventually just ignored me and went about their business

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Called Sigma Benelux and they don't have the DP2 M for at least for another 2 weeks, so I changed it to the DP1 M spontaneously! Will have it tomorrow.
I hope the lens is as good.... Sunshade is not available yet.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by Michiel Schierbeek

Called Sigma Benelux and they don't have the DP2 M for at least for another 2 weeks, so I changed it to the DP1 M spontaneously! Will have it tomorrow.
I hope the lens is as good.... Sunshade is not available yet.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

I received my Sigma DP1M this AM and took it out with the DP2M for a few comparison shots at the farmers market. Here are 3 scenes each shot on the same tripod with each camera and same exposure settings.

So far I'm feeling better with the DP2M. There is more CA and fringing evident in some DP1M images (although easily corrected) and the DP1M really needs to be shipped with the lens hood. It is very sensitive to backlit lens flare (see pond image), but to be fair I had a hood on for the DP2M and not the DP1M (none available yet). Sharpness is surprisingly good across the frame for the DP1M, but probably not on the same level as the DP2M. These are only first impressions under rather poor lighting conditions and with limited subject matter. I'll work some more with both camera and report back and I hope to hear more from others who have these cameras.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Thanks Carl! Am I going to regret my swap? I do like the Sigma 19 on the NEX quiet a lot.
Did you have to correct distortion? I do shoot a lot of brick wals for fun, you know

There is a lot more sharp DOF in the DP1, if you look at the floors. These are nice samples. Don't know about fine detail.

Michiel

Michiel,

No, I don't think so. I think that for architectural work the DP1M will do well. I made no corrections for distortion and there isn't much to correct. You do need to watch for lens flare with the DP1M, but no more than you would with any WA shooting into the sun. I can't understand why Sigma was not ready to ship a simple lens hood for this camera, which needs it more than the DP2M that has a lens hood available. There is some lateral CA that needs correcting, but nothing major that can't be fixed in post. I'm going down to Washington DC in a couple of weeks so I'll have a chance to try some architectural and street shooting with the DP1M then. Looking forward to your shots and impressions of the DP1M.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Quentin,

After our first interchange...and spending a number of days with the stunning DP2M I realized that another body was needed. Should the first die or malfunction...no way I am willing to await the next big thing...this is to me as close as it gets....

My Leica S2-P, Canon 1DX, and Oly OM-D will still be there but the DP2M is stunning...so good so organic without a doubt one of my favorite cameras ...
EVER.

First time I have purchased two cameras alike...I just do not think this will be surpassed anytime soon.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by scho

I received my Sigma DP1M this AM and took it out with the DP2M for a few comparison shots at the farmers market. Here are 3 scenes each shot on the same tripod with each camera and same exposure settings.
So far I'm feeling better with the DP2M. There is more CA and fringing evident in some DP1M images (although easily corrected) and the DP1M really needs to be shipped with the lens hood. It is very sensitive to backlit lens flare (see pond image), but to be fair I had a hood on for the DP2M and not the DP1M (none available yet). Sharpness is surprisingly good across the frame for the DP1M, but probably not on the same level as the DP2M. These are only first impressions under rather poor lighting conditions and with limited subject matter. I'll work some more with both camera and report back and I hope to hear more from others who have these cameras.

Hi Carl
All I can say is just UPS, while that suddenly changed my life, from simplicity to complexity. Its very hard to compare those from the barn(perhaps the dp2 should have been moved backwards?), but, with some resistance (while I was aiming for the 28mm wide, I have to have a wide…), I have to admit the DP2 just looks more clear, more refined, and colours more spot on, more lively, warm & tender.
And the outdoor pictures, here is everything going wrong for the DP1 it seems, it looks like a pale and exhausted winter-picture compared to the DP2-one, the tree look like its just about loosing its leaves(!) where they at the DP2 are green and optimistic healthy. Perhaps the side-light is tricking the white balance without that hood, it just look like a disaster colour wise! And I don’t want to use a lot of time in pp.
Hhhmmm…and here I imagined that life could be easy….
But thanks a lot, Carl, anyway(!!)..
Thorkil
PS. f.8? Iso? in the barn (splendid pictures I forgot to tell)
But perhaps the DP1-colours are more realistic/objective? and the DP2 just have a more warm and saturized glow that are giving the real world a more optimistic view? or?

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by docmoore

Quentin,

After our first interchange...and spending a number of days with the stunning DP2M I realized that another body was needed. Should the first die or malfunction...no way I am willing to await the next big thing...this is to me as close as it gets....

My Leica S2-P, Canon 1DX, and Oly OM-D will still be there but the DP2M is stunning...so good so organic without a doubt one of my favorite cameras ...
EVER.

First time I have purchased two cameras alike...I just do not think this will be surpassed anytime soon.

And I was not going to divulge this...oh well......

Bob

Actually makes a lot of sense. Two DP2M's cost less than one Sony RX1 and a lot less than a Leica "M" - even less than the Leica M-E just announced.

And some ill-informed reviewers thought that the Sigma DP2M was overpriced, just because it says "Sigma" on the front...

Quentin Bargate Co-Founder of Ajuve, Director of Bargate Murray, Law Firm of the Year 2012 - 2016, Photographer

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by scho

Sharpness is surprisingly good across the frame for the DP1M, but probably not on the same level as the DP2M.

Perhaps a few steps forward with the DP1M to have the same coverage as that of the DP2M might change the perspectives of things, or a few steps back with the DP2M to spread the pixels a bit thinner ....

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by 24mm

Perhaps a few steps forward with the DP1M to have the same coverage as that of the DP2M might change the perspectives of things, or a few steps back with the DP2M to spread the pixels a bit thinner ....

Frank

I think you are right Frank. The DP1M looks better when this type comparison is made. I couldn't get outside today (pouring rain) to re-shoot, but here is a simple bookshelf comparison where the distance of the DP2M was adjusted to try and match the size of the DP1M image.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Send it back...buy the best sneakers you can find and take a couple of steps back...voila...DP2M becomes DP1M! Without CA! And the shoes will outlast the camera upgrades...

Loving my two DP2Ms ... am pleased that I do not need the DP1M.

Bob

I haven't given up on the DP1M yet Bob, but may do so if I can't get anything better out of it in the next couple of days. The lens is really not that bad for a wide angle, but certainly not at the same quality level as the 30 in the DP2M.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Hi Carl,
Thanks for the pictures!
Just some quick words: There seems still to be a huge difference in colours, looking at the fish and the oak-shelf in the upper left corner and then at the ceramic pot at right. Which one come closest to perfection? It looks like the DP2 is more true(?), and all the edges of things are more welldefined and clear and sharp on the 2. And it seems too that the DP1 is more grainy, more noisy.
Thanks
Thorkil
Ps. Yes you are right, the DP1 isn't bad at all, but it just havn't got that little extra touch of refinement and clarity and convincing colours as the DP2 has, it seems.
PPs. the DP1 seems to have a sort of more dull appearence if I might say so.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by Thorkil

Hi Carl,
Thanks for the pictures!
Just some quick words: There seems still to be a huge difference in colours, looking at the fish and the oak-shelf in the upper left corner and then at the ceramic pot at right. Which one come closest to perfection? It looks like the DP2 is more true(?), and all the edges of things are more welldefined and clear and sharp on the 2. And it seems too that the DP1 is more grainy, more noisy.
Thanks
Thorkil
Ps. Yes you are right, the DP1 isn't bad at all, but it just havn't got that little extra touch of refinement and clarity and convincing colours as the DP2 has, it seems.

Same here. I have been looking yesterday evening and saw a lot of pictures on both cameras and what stroke me was the difference in colour. It could be PP, but almost all DPm1 pictures were on the very blue side. Is that also your out of camera experience, Carl?

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by Thorkil

Hi Carl,
Thanks for the pictures!
Just some quick words: There seems still to be a huge difference in colours, looking at the fish and the oak-shelf in the upper left corner and then at the ceramic pot at right. Which one come closest to perfection? It looks like the DP2 is more true(?), and all the edges of things are more welldefined and clear and sharp on the 2. And it seems too that the DP1 is more grainy, more noisy.
Thanks
Thorkil
Ps. Yes you are right, the DP1 isn't bad at all, but it just havn't got that little extra touch of refinement and clarity and convincing colours as the DP2 has, it seems.
PPs. the DP1 seems to have a sort of more dull appearence if I might say so.

Originally Posted by Michiel Schierbeek

Same here. I have been looking yesterday evening and saw a lot of pictures on both cameras and what stroke me was the difference in colour. It could be PP, but almost all DPm1 pictures were on the very blue side. Is that also your out of camera experience, Carl?

Michiel

The color differences may be in part due to WB issues. I used auto WB for both cameras, but the result with the DP1M tends more to a slight magenta cast in neutrals. I agree that there is also a general "dull" appearance to the DP1M images and they don't have the apparent depth and 3D look that the DP2M conveys. This is most apparent in landscape images.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Last comparison shots on the bookshelf, this time with a ColorChecker chart included (old chart, so don't be too critical in using it). Seems like slight blue cast in both using auto white balance in camera. No adjustments made in SPP other than turning off noise reduction. Conversion to srgb and jpg export in LR, seems to darken and throw off colors slightly.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Unfortunately there is no support from either Adobe or Phase for Sigma raw. If you are on a Mac then Raw Developer will have support in the next revision.
Write times are very, very looong.

Thank you Carl!
What is the current workflow and how satisfactory do you find it? I fear it may be too tedious and annoying in the long run, that it may be the camera I leave behind, despite the valiant efforts and superb results seen here.

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by pophoto

Thank you Carl!
What is the current workflow and how satisfactory do you find it? I fear it may be too tedious and annoying in the long run, that it may be the camera I leave behind, despite the valiant efforts and superb results seen here.

Workflow isn't too tedious. Basically, raw files imported into SPP, batch processed (after making any individual adjustments necessary) to 16 bit Tiff files which are imported into LR4 for any further processing, export for web, printing, etc. Bad thing is I'm accumulating both raws and tiffs until there is real raw support in LR or C1 (if ever).

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Hi Carl, just some few words.
Yes your last picture: If we hadn't seen DP2M's this one we would call extraordinary good(!), and it is. Yes perhaps it is the missing hood in sunshine that do most of the difference in your lake/trees pictures.
And your bookshelf: It's unfair, but looking at the upper left corner at the spiralback of the book the 2M wins by a large margin. But on the other hand, this is an unfair judgement while moving the 2M back compared to the 1, you get relatively greater DOF and therefore the upper left corner could be slightly unsharp because the 1 is closer on. But looking at the cheramic bottle, the shape of it is rendered far better by the 2M, and more 3-dimentional than the 1M, and looking at the books behind, the brown one with the brass-nail is just so much more welldefined, and deliver the shine from your light in the room in a complete different way, just about at the edge of being "overnatural". (I guess that why Quentin is turning sharpness a bit down), but again the greater distance with DP2M can do a bit of the difference, but not all.
The DP1M is doing very very well, but it just have a bigger sister that shines those 5% more. And sometimes its those little 5% that is turning our brain upside down
Life for me DPM-wise is not becoming easier, while I think I will buy the DP2M because of that little extra touch, and then just do wide with the Ricoh GXR 28 and the M-module. But 45mm I have never used as carry-with-me, mostly 21 or 28mm, or 14-24. But perhaps its about time trying something else
Thanks.
Thorkil

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Carl, thanks for the later comparison photos. I prefer the DP1M, the way it renders the scratches on the shelf, not that obvious on the DP2M. The stopper on the ceramic and the rivet at the top of the color chart is natural with the DP1M and the way it gave the dust and reflection on the shelf an analog feel, I love it. Of course conditions were not exact, so your mileage may vary ....

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Originally Posted by 24mm

Carl, thanks for the later comparison photos. I prefer the DP1M, the way it renders the scratches on the shelf, not that obvious on the DP2M. The stopper on the ceramic and the rivet at the top of the color chart is natural with the DP1M and the way it gave the dust and reflection on the shelf an analog feel, I love it. Of course conditions were not exact, so your mileage may vary ....

Frank

Hi Frank, I think I can see what you mean, there are some marks in the wood-front just under the right side of the cheramic, which can't be seen on the DP2M, but that might be because of a different angle the DP1M is cathing the reflected light, being closer on. Funny how different eyes cathes different details And the "carpet" under the cheramic is more "loose" at the edges, more grainy, and you might be right, in a more film-like way than the DP2M.
Thorkil

Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

We had some heavy rain yesterday so I went to another of the local waterfalls in anticipation of some nice flows, but lighting and colors were disappointing. Here are two 2 shot stitches with the DP2M of the lower and upper falls.